


Write On Me

by FromAnotherSun



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, kinda slowburn or so I'm told
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-12 20:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16002632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FromAnotherSun/pseuds/FromAnotherSun
Summary: Six times Kara and Lena gave each other a forehead kiss and one time they didn't.





	1. 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set not too long after "Luthors."

Kara Danvers was not a happy camper.

Her day had been busy from the start, which was to be expected for an alien who was both a superhero and a reporter. Supergirl had to wrangle some sort of goo monster wreaking havoc in the wee hours of the morning before spending the rest of the early morning zipping around preventing traffic disasters. Kara the Reporter then had to endure a coffee-less Snapper Carr and his grump-a-thon, which she escaped only by getting yesterday’s draft back covered in red.

Kara had been partway through her edits and was eagerly awaiting lunch only to have to sneak away to deal with Mr. Goo Monster’s sister’s friend’s uncle’s brother-in-law’s cousin who was also comprised of sticky substances. It was messy, to say the least, and took up her lunch hour. The young superhero resorted to scarfing down two sandwiches while flying so she could make it back to Catco and finish her revised draft on time without using too much superspeed.

Things were a tad better when Snapper gave her an insult-but-actually-a-compliment on the changes she had made to her article… And then he ordered her to take the two-feet-tall stack of papers on the corner of his desk and check if every scrap of information on each page had verified sources.

Kara was only on the fourteenth page when her alter ego was called away to deal with Mr. Goo Monster’s sister-in-law’s grandfather’s… _something_ and that went as cleanly as the first two times. At this point, she was sure that she could happily go the rest of her life without ever seeing that particular shade of brown-green ever again. She checked with Winn and then double-checked with Alex that there were no lingering odors before returning to Catco.

The blonde managed to flop onto her seat just as another aspiring reporter came by to ask her how hard it would be to spring an “impromptu candid interview!” on “the last Luthor, newly vindicated!” While a part of her wanted to tell her increasingly annoying colleague that Supergirl herself would personally bar him from stepping even a foot into L-Corp, Kara forced a smile and told him politely that ambushing the very, very, very busy CEO with an interrogation about her family was not a good (or nice) idea. Her coworker finally slunk away when he realized Kara wasn’t going to be an accomplice for his “war between the Luthors!?” article pitch.

Kara could not wait for this day to be _over_. She was on Page 32 of Too Many when she made up her mind. She was going to salvage today by visiting a dear friend and hopefully catch dinner together so the two of them could properly unwind from the stress of recent events.

That was where she was now: stuck in a metal box on the way to see Lena Luthor.

Kara shifted from one foot to the other impatiently as she waited for the elevator to reach its destination, her eyes holding a staring contest with the numbers moving very slowly upwards. She briefly entertained the idea of breaking out of the elevator so she could speed up the stairs for the last five floors. Scowling, Kara settled for blaming Alex for not calling her before she stepped into the elevator.

When the elevator finally dinged to announce its arrival at the CEO of L-Corp’s floor, Kara all but zoomed to the double doors separating her from her friend. She flashed a reassuring smile at a somewhat worried Jess before pulling the door open and stepping inside.

“Hi, Lena!” Kara exclaimed with a grin before turning to the other occupant of the room with a less warm expression. “Maggie.”

Lena Luthor was fairly adept at hiding the nuances of her emotions, but Kara felt a surge of protectiveness as she sensed the hint of relief hidden in the pleased surprise that coated the CEO’s returned greeting. “Kara, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Kara,” Maggie Sawyer echoed with a nod. “I was just talking to Miss Luthor about an L-Corp matter.”

“No fake surveillance videos and handcuffs this time, I hope,” Kara said with a trace of steel in her voice as she crossed her arms and straightened her back. Recalling the last time she spoke to Maggie, in this very office no less, she suppressed the urge to glare at the shorter woman.

To her credit, Maggie didn’t seem even remotely fazed by the almost hostile remark. In fact, Kara could have sworn there was a hint of amusement in the detective’s smile as she replied, “Actually, I was asking Miss Luthor for her help with a lead.”

Kara frowned and was about to make another comment but Lena calmly spoke up first. “As I mentioned earlier, Detective, I am not well acquainted with Doctor West and his colleagues. However, I will look into the matter and gladly pass any helpful information your way.”

“That’s all we ask, Miss Luthor. Thank you for your time,” Maggie said, extending her hand for a quick handshake with the CEO. Her professional demeanor became a more cordial one as she added, “Again, sorry about the other day.”

“No need to worry,” Lena answered with a practiced smile. “You were just doing your job.”

Kara felt the tension in her shoulders seep away as she acknowledged her friend’s words only for it to be replaced by a twinge of guilt. She internally sighed before turning to Maggie without any of the ice from a minute ago.

“Alex was looking for you, by the way,” she said. “She _finally_ decided where you guys should go tonight.” Kara gave an affectionate roll of the eyes and grinned at the detective. She hoped to convey a silent apology, though she made a mental note to properly say sorry later.

Maggie chuckled, “Finally is right word for it. Better not keep the lady waiting.” She began moving towards the door but paused, turning to face Lena again. “We should hang out sometime. I’ve got some interesting dirt on the Danvers... Both of them.”

“Wha- Maggie, what?” Kara sputtered, not expecting the sudden invite. “What are you—”

If Lena was surprised, she hid it much better. “I might actually take you up on that,” she said with a teasing smile directed at the only blonde in the room. “Kara Danvers is certainly… fascinating.”

Kara was about to insist that no, she was not fascinating at all, especially when compared to a certain super clever, super brave, super _good_ CEO, but her words died in her throat when said CEO gave her a wink.

To be honest, it was more of an attempt at a wink rather than a successful one, but the end result was the same. The sudden warmth spreading through her body rendered Supergirl speechless.  

Maggie’s laugh broke Kara out of her trance. “Hope to see you two soon then,” the detective said as a farewell. She shot a smile and a meaningful look at Kara as she stepped past her. With a final nod at the two occupants of the room, she made her exit.

Kara listened to Maggie’s footsteps grow distant, fidgeting with her glasses before turning to fully face Lena.

“Um…” Kara slowly lowered her hand from her face as she carefully regarded the woman before her.

To the untrained, unfamiliar eye, Lena Luthor likely looked composed and unruffled. Her poise was perfect as she stood behind her office desk, her eyes sharp and piercing. There was no doubt that she had spoken to the day’s visitors with the right mix of professionalism and charm. Most people probably wouldn’t have realized the “last Luthor” recently went through a thoroughly unpleasant ordeal with her mother if it weren’t for the fact that Lena’s arrest had been on headlines everywhere.

Kara took pride in the fact that she wasn’t “most people” as she scanned her friend. She fought the urge to scoop the younger woman into a hug when she noticed the guarded weariness in Lena’s eyes and the way her hands were clasped together tightly. The reporter wanted nothing more than to embrace the CEO with warmth and comfort as she saw how rigid her posture was.

“Sorry for just bursting in here. I just kinda… Alex told me Maggie was here so I just wanted to… y’know, drop by.” Kara waved her hand in the air vaguely before stepping towards her friend. “Are you okay?” she asked gently.

For a second, Kara’s heart fell as a well-practiced smile slipped onto Lena’s face. She braced herself for hearing some version of “I'm fine” as she scrambled for a way to tell Lena that it would be more than okay to say “I’m not fine.”

“I…” The words seemed to catch in the CEO’s throat as her eyes met Kara’s. The blonde gave her friend a reassuring smile as she waited patiently for Lena to decide what she wanted to say.

Finally, Lena’s CEO mask faded as she sighed and looked to the ground. “It’s been a long day,” she murmured, unclasping her hands to wrap her arms around herself. “It’s been a long week,” she amended with a wry smile, looking back at Kara.

Kara smiled back softly. “I know.”

The superhero slowly reached out to her friend, placing her hand on Lena’s shoulder. Kara was inwardly pleased when she noted that the Luthor didn’t freeze or stiffen at their contact. Her own smile widened when she heard Lena’s minute sigh of relief as she rubbed her thumb in small, soothing circles.

“You know,” Kara said conversationally, “If Maggie gave you a hard time I can thr- ask Supergirl to throw her to the South Pole.”

Lena chuckled at this attempt to lighten the mood. “In that case, please tell Supergirl that the board members are the ones that should learn some manners from penguins.”

Kara grinned at the mental image before her amusement faded, replaced by concern and sympathy when Lena moved away to stand at the large windows of her office. She dutifully stepped next to her friend, their arms almost brushing. For a moment or so, the two stood next to each other without speaking, taking comfort in each other’s silent solidarity. 

“Can I tell you something, off the record?” Lena suddenly asked.

Kara gave a start and stared at her friend, who was gazing out the window as though she didn’t just speak. She frowned before insisting, “Of course you can. I mean at this point everything we talk about is off the record by default… You can talk to me about anything, Lena, I promise.”

“Thank you,” Lena said with a small smile. She glanced at Kara’s determined eyes for a second before turning back to the window. “Detective Sawyer came to ask me about some old Luthor Corp employees.”

Kara’s frown deepened, her eyes watching Lena’s face intently. “Luthor Corp… It’s not too serious, is it?” she asked, wondering if this was something she needed to talk to Alex about.

“No, no,” Lena said with a dismissive flick of the wrist. “Probably just Lex’s old friends with too much time on their hands. Inappropriate use of L-Corp labs and such. It won’t be too hard to find out what they’re up to…”

Her voice faded and after a few seconds, Kara prompted, “But?”

Another silence fell over the pair as Lena collected her words. “I just…” She trailed off again, this time biting her lower lip in frustration. Finally, she sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry. Detective Sawyer herself said this case probably isn’t even that big a deal.”

Kara felt the urge to hug Lena rise up once more. “Hey,” she called out softly to her friend. When Lena turned to look at her, she placed her hand on the CEO’s shoulder again. “Doctor West or whatever it was might not be plotting world domination, but he’s still messing with your labs… your company. That can’t feel good.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Lena agreed. She closed her eyes and her voice seemed tighter when she said, “I just wish Luthor Corp’s wrongdoings would stop affecting L-Corp.” 

It wasn’t hard to figure out what Lena really meant when she said Luthor Corp and L-Corp. This time, Kara didn’t bother fighting the desire to hold her friend so she carefully pulled Lena into a secure but gentle hug. The reporter felt her heart swell as Lena returned the embrace, her arms slowly circling Kara’s waist.

“Everybody in this building knows how hard you work,” Kara said as she held her friend. “Mrs. Donnelly—one of the janitors on your floor—she thanked me the other day for making sure you actually left your office at a reasonable time.” 

Kara smiled as she felt Lena’s grip on her tighten. She continued, “I like to chat with your employees. When Jess isn’t glaring at me for interrupting something, I mean. Anyways… They like working for L-Corp and they like working for you.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Kara pulled away from the hug slightly so she could look at Lena’s face. The CEO’s eyes were shining with trust, gratitude, and something Kara couldn’t quite place, but it sent a happy fluttering through the superhero’s stomach. She quickly reminded herself to get to the point before she got lost in Lena’s eyes.

“Lena, I believe in you,” Kara stated firmly. “The shadows Lex and Lillian make go pretty far, but if anyone’s going to bring light to the Luthor name and to L-Corp, it’s you. People are seeing that. Your board might be filled with money-loving… meanie butts, but I know for a fact that there’s a list of people who trust in you and what you do. My name’s right on there with Jess and Mrs. Donnelley and Mr. Thomas and Vic—”

“Is Supergirl on there?” Lena cut in with a smile before Kara literally listed everyone on the floor. 

“Of course! The offer for taking meanie butts to Antarctica still stands, by the way.”

Lena let out a laugh, the noise filling Kara with joy and pride. The stress of the day was long forgotten as Lena wrapped her arms tighter around the reporter.

“You really are my hero,” Lena said quietly. “Thank you.”

Kara beamed, her friend’s words giving her a sudden burst of courage. Kara steeled herself before it faded. She gently leaned forward and carefully pressed her lips to Lena’s forehead.

Lena’s radiant smile was totally worth it.


	2. II

Despite her astute mind, sharp intellect, and overall above-average brainpower, Lena Luthor did not know how to explain Kara Danvers.

Sure, she could _describe_ Kara. She could describe the physical aspects of her friend, such as the golden hair that looked ridiculously soft even though it was always tied back, the blue eyes that instantly lit up whenever potstickers came in sight, the lips that quirked upwards whenever Lena said something particularly nerdy, the hands that were unfailingly gentle and warm, the arms that the Luthor had learned to associate with _safe_ , the body she longed to embrace—

She could describe less tangible things like how Kara appeared to be addicted to food in a way that most people weren’t, how she sometimes stumbled over her words when nervous or excited or some mix of both, how she spoke of her friends occasionally with exasperation but always with fondness and pride, how she radiated a cheerfulness that was almost contagious, how she sometimes wore a contemplative look instead, how she would gaze at Lena from time to time in a way that nobody else did—

In short, Lena could probably describe a lot of things about Kara Danvers, more than she’d admit out loud, but she didn’t know how to _explain_ her.

She didn’t know how to explain the inescapable connection that had formed from their very first meeting. No doubt the similarities in their pasts and their parallels in the present had something to do with it, but somehow those felt like inadequate explanations for the mutual understanding that had quickly and easily blossomed between them. Lena wasn’t one for opening up and confiding in other people, least of all a reporter, yet more than once she found herself having a heart-to-heart conversation with Kara.

She didn’t know how to explain how they had fallen and actually stayed in each other’s orbits. Their respective jobs had brought them together, though it certainly wasn’t the glue that held together their friendship. It wasn’t hard to fathom why Lena enjoyed Kara’s presence and very existence, but she still found herself questioning why the blonde seemed to gravitate towards her. There was a list of reasons why she shouldn’t, the weight of Luthor legacy-turned-curse being only one of them. However, despite all odds, Kara was still here.

Kara was still here, often stopping by Lena’s office loaded with food or armed with excuses to lure Lena out of L-Corp. On days when they didn’t have the time to eat, Kara still showed up to snatch a few minutes with Lena. She always earned a smile or laugh from the CEO before panicking when she remembered she had somewhere to be.

Kara was still here, charming Lena’s employees with her cheery disposition and smiling dangerously at businessmen that so much as implied that Lena was like her brother. Her faith in Lena never wavered even when Lena herself was the one expressing doubt. Lena had been both amused and amazed by the steely glint in Kara’s eyes the last time the reporter spoke to a business partner that was “being a total jerkface,” but she would never forget the kindness and conviction in those blue orbs when Kara said “I believe in you.”

Kara was still here, brightening Lena’s days with her easygoing nature and cheesy humor. She was still here, readily offering hugs and reassuring words whenever they were needed. She was still here, reminding Lena that she would always have a shoulder to lean on even if they weren’t physically together.

Kara was still here, and Lena didn’t know how to explain _why_.

And maybe, Lena mused, that was okay.

Not everything could be explained, after all. Lena still had no clear answers as to why Lex had lost himself to his obsessions and descended into madness. She still didn’t know why her mother- why Lillian was so hell-bent on her crusade of hate. She still couldn’t figure out why some people outright insisted that she was like the rest of her family even though she was doing everything she could to prove she that was not.

Compared to these lingering questions, the mystery of Kara and her unconditional friendship was a welcome one.

It was more than welcome, Lena decided as she sat across the reporter in a small restaurant. The Kara Danvers Conundrum could remain unanswered along with the enigma of how the blonde had just stuffed three dumplings in her mouth like that was the most normal thing in the world.

“Kara, nobody’s going to fight you for these.”

Kara fortunately had the presence of mind to chew a few times and swallow before answering. “I know, but they’re just so good! You don’t even need to add soy sauce or anything and the texture of the meat is just–” She made a vague squeezing gesture with her left hand while grabbing another dumpling with the chopsticks in her other hand. “I can’t believe I’ve never had these before.”

“I’m surprised dumplings this good slipped under your radar, Miss Danvers,” Lena teased, narrowing her eyes playfully.

“I’ve never stopped in this part of the city to eat. And I don’t have a secretary who also happens to be engaged to a chef, Miss Luthor,” Kara retorted. She actually stuck out her tongue at the CEO before popping another dumpling into her mouth.

Reminding herself to thank Jess again later, Lena chuckled. “Well, now we know where to go the next time you want a change of pace from potstickers.”

Kara gave a dumpling-muffled shout and her eyes widened. Lena could practically see a light bulb turn on above her friend’s head so she sat back in amusement and patiently waited for Kara to finish the food in her mouth.

“You know what would be the most amazing thing? Dumpling Night!” Kara exclaimed. “We would have potstickers and steamed buns from the restaurant on Fifth, gyoza from Uzumaki… oh, and wonton from the place we went to last week. And these wonderful dumplings of course!”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “I hope you’re not forgetting about the dim sum menu here.”

The Luthor didn’t think it was possible for Kara to look even _more_ like a puppy that had stumbled upon a vault of dog treats, but the reporter always had a penchant for defying Lena’s expectations. Making some quick calculations, Lena was suddenly extra grateful for her hefty salary as she quietly took note of the items that seemed to pique Kara’s interest and appetite the most.

Unfortunately, before Kara could order a quarter of the menu, the blonde’s phone beeped.

Lena had already seen this happen a few times over the past two weeks, but she was still intrigued by how rapidly Kara shifted from a food fanatic into something more serious. The reporter’s brow was furrowed as she quickly tapped on her phone placed at the side of their table. Tilting her head slightly, Kara seemed to be momentarily lost in her thoughts or concentrating on something Lena couldn’t see before she let out a sigh.

Kara pushed up her glasses with a frown and then looked up at the person sitting across her. “Listen, Lena, I’m really sorry bu–”

“It’s fine,” Lena swiftly cut in. When Kara’s scowl deepened, Lena gave her a reassuring smile. “Really, it’s okay if you need to go.”

“I’m sorry– It’s just– This is the fourth time in a row,” Kara grumbled, clearly frustrated. She sent Lena an apologetic look as she patted her pockets and checked for her belongings. “You go out of your way to make time for me and I–”

Her phone buzzed again.

“Kara,” Lena called out imploringly as the woman all but glared at the device. “It’s okay. I understand. An important scoop isn’t going to wait for reporters to finish lunch.”

“Right,” Kara muttered, throwing down a couple bills on the table. She cleared her throat before gathering the rest of her things and fixing Lena with a determined look. “I will make this up to you soon, I promise.”

“You don’t have to–”

“I _want_ to.” Kara stood up and moved towards the door, stopping briefly on the way to wrap an arm around Lena. “You’re my friend,” she said with a soft smile.

If Lena Luthor didn’t know how to explain Kara Danvers, she certainly didn’t know how to explain the strange fluttering feeling that smile gave her.

Lena carried that feeling all the way back to L-Corp and into three meetings with prospective investors. Even though the last meeting was, in polite terms, dreadfully boring and ridiculously long, the CEO found that she didn’t really mind. She had no problem plastering on a pleasant smile as she bid the investors farewell before stepping into the elevator to return to her office.

As she waited to arrive at her destination, Lena pulled out her phone. She checked that there were no messages from her dear friend and then pulled up her emails. There wasn’t anything of importance there either, so Lena switched to a local news app instead to see what had transpired during the afternoon while she was stuck in conference rooms.

Supergirl’s latest escapade covered the front page. There were at least six different links to websites covering what the media collectively dubbed the “Return of the Goo Family.” Her sympathy going out to the superhero, Lena tapped on the article posted by CatCo where she was graced with more details of the heroine’s hours-long tussle with mucky menaces and picture proof of National City’s personal Super in action.

Lena skimmed the article, her thumb quickly swiping upwards several times until it paused on an image of Supergirl in her classic pose. Her hands were on her hips and she stood proud and tall, shoulders squared and radiating confidence. She appeared to be speaking to someone off-camera with a grin even though her iconic blue and red suit was covered in unflattering globs of gunk.

Reading the caption under that picture, Lena silently praised the hero for maintaining her unique air of regality even though she had just been doused in goop for what was reportedly the fifth time in three hours. The Luthor idly wondered if the sludge smelled as bad as it looked, but she pushed aside that train of thought when her elevator reached her floor. She locked her phone and made her way towards her office, eager to take a break and unwind for a few minutes in privacy.

“Miss Luthor,” Jess the Secretary called out, stopping Lena in her tracks. “Miss Danvers came by to see you. She should still be in your office.”

Lena blinked in surprise since she wasn’t expecting to see her friend again so soon. “Has she been waiting long?” she asked as she resumed walking towards her room at a slightly faster pace.

Jess glanced at the clock on her computer. “Almost an hour now, actually.” When Lena paused again, a hint of a frown growing on her face, her assistant quickly explained, “I informed her that your meeting could take a while and she said she was fine with waiting for you. In fact, she insisted.”

Lena had to duck her head to hide the smile that suddenly attempted to take over her face. She tried to make her joy less obvious before looking back up to say, “Thank you, Jess. If there’s nothing else, feel free to leave for the night.”

Judging from Jess’s own widening grin, the CEO’s attempt to mask her happiness failed, but Lena found herself not caring whatsoever. Her secretary was practically beaming as she said, “Thank you. Enjoy your night with Miss Danvers!”

“That I will,” Lena assured her with a chuckle before striding over to her office.

Lena pulled the door open, ready to greet her friend when, once again, she came to a halt. Fondness rose in her chest like a fountain as she took in the sight in front of her.

A familiar reporter was lying down on the sole couch in the room, her eyes shut behind the glasses she wore. One arm was placed over her stomach while the other trailed to the ground. The blonde gave no indication that she had heard someone enter the room, her chest continuing to slowly fall and rise with her breathing.

Lena Luthor wasn’t entirely sure where the urge to _squee_ of all things came from, but nonetheless she welcomed the tender affection filling her as she confirmed to herself: Kara Danvers was fast asleep.

Not wanting to disturb her friend, Lena quietly shut the door behind her before taking a few tentative steps towards the couch. When Kara barely even stirred, the CEO slowly kneeled down so she could observe the blonde more closely.

Lena’s eyes slowly traced the contours of Kara’s face. Her delighted grin faded into a more pensive expression as she carefully raised a hand to the reporter’s cheek, brushing away a few stray strands of hair. Almost hesitantly, Lena allowed her fingers to linger against her friend’s skin.

Kara moved slightly, causing Lena to stiffen in alarm. However, instead of waking up, the blonde shifted closer to Lena’s hand. The Luthor’s throat suddenly felt tight as she cupped the slumbering woman’s cheek. She opened her mouth, perhaps to whisper things she couldn’t find the courage to say when Kara was awake, but the words eluded her. 

Lena cautiously moved her hand towards the reporter’s glasses. For a brief second, she considered removing them for her friend but then thought otherwise. Instead, she used her thumb to softly trace the tiny scar Kara bore near her eyebrow. The hints of a prickling sensation started to build in Lena’s eyes when she saw a small but peaceful smile subconsciously spread across Kara’s face.

The emotions in her heart threatening to overflow, Lena leaned forward and gently kissed her resting hero’s forehead. 

Twenty minutes later, Kara practically flew off the couch in her haste to apologize for falling asleep, but Lena immediately assured her that it was fine, that it was okay.

After all, Kara was here.


	3. 3.

“You’re going to do what with who?”

In another life, on another day, in another context, Lena Luthor would have laughed at the words coming from Supergirl’s mouth. Unfortunately, they were stuck in this life, on this day, in this context.

“I’m going to attend a party at Vantage Hotel as one of Doctor West’s several guests, not _with_ him,” Lena said calmly, leaning back in her office chair.

“You’re going to go to this fancy hotel party with– as the guest of a man who’s... lacking in morals,” Supergirl restated.

“You can put it that way.”

“A man who was a Lex fanboy and doesn’t really like you?”

“Not the words I’d use, but you could say that.”

“A man who was recently spotted with criminals working for Cadmus?”

“Pretty careless of him, in my opinion.”

“A man who would totally hand you over to Cadmus for money?”

“That’s probably his plan, yes.”

“And you want to go… as bait?”

“Precisely.”

Crossing her arms, Lena warily observed the Super standing in the middle of the room. The blonde slowly raised a hand and placed it over her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose before lowering her hand.

“Miss Luthor,” Supergirl started slowly. “I hope you don’t need me to tell you how this is a really bad idea.”

“No, I don’t,” Lena replied curtly. “I hope _you_ don’t need me to tell you how this is a good opportunity.”

“I am all for beating bad guys at their own game, but you are walking straight into the lion’s den. And some of these ‘lions’ probably have stolen weapons,” Supergirl retorted. Her hands clenched then unclenched as the costume-clad woman began pacing back and forth.

Lena raised an eyebrow. “This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve turned the tables on idiots with alien guns,” she pointed out.

Supergirl stopped in her tracks before approaching Lena’s desk. “Using a gala as bait is not the same thing as using yourself as bait.”

Withholding a sigh at the anger she heard in the blonde’s voice, Lena gave a humorless laugh. “Luckily, Mother still wants me alive for now. The worst that’ll happen is that they successfully kidnap me, in which case I hope you’d be willing to rescue me again.”

“Of course I would,” Supergirl answered instantly with zero hesitation. However, the irritation in her voice was easy to hear as she continued, “I mean ideally you wouldn’t be going through with this ridiculous plan in the first place.”

Lena felt her own frustration bubble up. “Unfortunately, Supergirl, that’s not for you to decide,” she said, her voice coming out colder than she wanted. She pressed on. “You know I’ve already spoken to Detective Sawyer, and she’ll have people stationed at the hotel. The FBI will be there as well.”

“And you know that for West to expose himself, nobody can be too close the party,” Supergirl shot back. “There might not be enough time for them to get to you once those Cadmus weapons are out.”

“Then I’ll buy time,” Lena nearly snapped. Taking a breath to steady herself, the Luthor leaned forward and placed her elbows on her desk, folding her hands. “I appreciate your concern, Supergirl, and I am very aware of the risks in this plan. However, I refuse to let Doctor West run around with Cadmus behind L-Corp’s back. I’m attending this party and I don’t need your approval to go.”

“Fine,” Supergirl huffed, realizing that Lena wasn’t going to budge. “Since I can’t stop you, I hope you don’t mind me hanging out near the Vantage.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Lena replied a little too quickly. She forced herself to maintain eye contact as Supergirl narrowed her eyes.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the fastest bodyguard in National City,” the Super said. “Alien guns hurt more than bullets, but I can keep you safe.”

This time, Lena let out an actual sigh, knowing that this particular Kyrptonian was far too stubborn to let sleeping dogs lie.

“You can’t go,” Lena said as firmly as she could. “Doctor West probably has synthetic kryptonite.”

“Huh.” Supergirl looked mildly surprised at this information. “I didn’t hear about that.”

“I found out just before you showed up,” Lena confessed. “I was digging through his server and it’s not clear what one of his pet projects was, but all signs point to it being some attempt at replicating kryptonite.”

Supergirl frowned thoughtfully before giving a resolute nod. “I’ll let my people know. We’ll keep an eye out for it.”

It was Lena’s turn to narrow her eyes. “You can’t seriously still be planning on showing up.”

The blonde had the gall to grin cheekily. “Unfortunately, Miss Luthor, that’s not for you to decide.”

Lena Luthor sighed again.

“Let’s hope this party goes smoothly, for both our sakes.”

* * *

Of course, it didn’t go smoothly.

To be fair, it started out fine. Lena mingled with familiar faces that she didn’t enjoy seeing and talked with strangers she didn’t want to know, but for the most part everyone was pleasant enough. Lena even had the good fortune of slipping a backhanded compliment to Doctor West.

Things started going downhill when Lena noticed that the Vantage Hotel ballroom was rapidly becoming less crowded after just an hour. She hid her misgivings well, chatting idly with a portly woman she knew had nothing to do with Doctor West and his cronies. When a member of the hotel staff called the woman to the side, Lena decided to wander towards the east wall of the room and maybe pick up another glass of champagne.

“Miss Luthor,” a tall, bald man greeted, rudely stepping in front of her. The Luthor was instantly on high alert as she took in his poorly tailored suit and badly shaven beard. He held his hands behind his back, no doubt hiding something there.

“How may I help you?” Lena asked with a polite smile. She surreptitiously moved her right hand over to her left wrist where she wore a watch. As subtly as she could, she pressed one of the buttons on the side and hoped that Detective Sawyer would pull through.

The man seemed oblivious to her actions as he leered at her. “So here’s the thing,” he started. “I met your mother a few weeks back and she asked me for a favor.”

“I suppose it involves me,” Lena sighed, already bored with the man’s pretense.

“Yup,” Baldy nodded. “I need you to do _me_ a favor and head out the staff exit with me, yeah?”

“And if I don’t?” the youngest Luthor challenged, jaw set firmly.

The man let out a repulsive chortle as he slowly pulled out a cumbersome, metallic device from behind him. Holding it like an assault rifle, the man patted the object fondly. “If you don’t, I’ll have to introduce you to this guy. Have a taste!”

Baldy gleefully shot a beam from the weapon and it hit a marble sculpture placed against a wall. The work of art instantly blew up, turning into fine dust, earning an excited whoop from the man. Lena tried to take this chance to make a break for it, but she was completely unsurprised when a laser landed a few feet in front of her, an obvious warning. She internally shook her head before turning back to the gun-toting criminal.

“Not so fast, Miss Luthor,” Baldy sneered. “No running off to rig up some gadget this time. We were told to watch for your little tricks.”

“I suppose Mother wouldn’t want to be outplayed by her adopted daughter. Again,” Lena replied, punctuating her last word with a smirk.

The man snorted. “Don’t get cheeky now, Miss. That Superfreak of yours isn’t going to save your hide, so just come along quietly.”

Lena resisted the urge to say “make me”, raising an eyebrow instead. “What makes you think she’s not coming?” she asked conversationally as she crossed her arms.

“Well,” Baldy drawled. “Maybe the hugeass kryptonite bomb in the building has something to do with it.”

Before Lena could respond, an explosion from the ballroom’s entrance shook the room. Her head turned automatically towards the door, but she quickly snapped her attention back on the man in front of her when he didn’t even flinch from the sudden blast. Her arms tightened as Baldy flashed all of his teeth.

“Looks like your little police buddies won’t be getting in either,” he said, his mouth widening in an ugly grin. He patted his bulky weapon fondly as he continued, “I really like these bad boys and I bet my friends do too.”

Lena’s eyes flashed and she silently hoped that the hotel staff and other partygoers were safely out of harm’s way. “It would be a shame if something happened to your new toys, wouldn’t it?”

“We already know about your contraption over by the champagne,” the man scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “That’s on the other side of the room, so if you’re done wasting time, come with me.”

Lena smiled pleasantly, casually uncrossing her arms to clasp her hands. “I don’t think so.”

Baldy let out a growl. “Look, missy, if you’re not going to walk with us, we’ll carry you out even if you’re missing a leg.”

The man lowered his gun, presumably to pick a leg to aim at. Not wanting to be de-limbed at all, Lena made her move. She quickly moved her hand over to her wrist again, pushing a different button on her watch. She took a deep breath and waited.

A field of energy came shooting from underneath the table holding flutes of champagne. Lena felt relief wash over her as the wave passed over the man and took his weapon with it, forcing the alien gun out of his hands and into the air before it disintegrated. She cautiously began backing away towards the entrance of the ballroom where she heard shouts of surprise and the sounds of yelling.

Baldy stood there for a second or two, gawking at the air, until he seemed to remember Lena. He let out a growl. “Remote controlled? Nobody told me about that!”

“Which is why you fell for it,” Lena said icily. She silently congratulated herself on wearing comfortable enough heels as she got ready to run from the pissed off criminal. Unfortunately, a telltale clicking sound made her freeze.

Baldy’s face was even more unpleasant than before now that it was contorted in anger. Veins bulged on his neck and his entire face was a nasty shade of red, channeling a furious bull about to charge. However, despite his threatening appearance, the pistol in his hand was what made Lena stop in her tracks.

The CEO straightened her back and put on her business smile, crossing her arms once again. “Did my mother give you that too?”

“Shut up! We were supposed to take you in alive, but you aren’t worth the trouble,” Baldy snarled.

Lena inhaled slowly as she took in the meaning of the man’s words. She was vaguely aware of the pain of her own nails digging into her arm, though the majority of her focus was on the gun pointing straight at her. She briefly considered making another quip to buy more time, but her throat suddenly felt too tight and her mouth went dry. Nonetheless, she steeled herself, refusing to let her last words be about Lillian of all people.

And then Baldy was catapulted across the room.

A flash of red and blue followed the man, slowing down next to him to materialize as National City’s beloved superhero. The heroine effortlessly picked him up by the collar with one hand and crushed his gun with the other. She leaned closer to the man and her mouth moved, though Lena couldn’t make out what was said above the pounding of blood in her ears. Whatever it was, the Luthor was inwardly pleased when Baldy visibly paled and then promptly passed out.

Lena shut her eyes and let out a shaky breath. There was a gust of wind and when her eyes opened, Supergirl was in front of her.

“Lena! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” The Kryptonian’s eyes were blazing with something in between anger and worry as they flicked up and down, scanning for injuries before stopping at Lena’s face. Her hand moved forward for a split second before they balled into a fist at her side.

“I– I’m fine.” Lena cursed herself for the stutter in her voice. Smiling stiffly, she tried again. “I’m unharmed, thanks to you. I can’t say the same for the ballroom though.”

The CEO’s attempt to draw attention away from herself failed since Supergirl continued gazing at her, eyebrows furrowed. Unwilling to be the first to look away, Lena stared into blue eyes as she searched her brain for something to say to diffuse the tension. A warm touch near her arm broke her out of her thoughts.

Lena looked down to see Supergirl’s hand placed over her own. The younger woman blinked; she had forgotten that her arms were still crossed defensively, her fingers gripping her biceps tightly. Now that she was paying attention though, Lena could both see and feel her hands shake despite the death grip her fingers had on herself. She closed her eyes and took in a breath, willing herself to relax.

Supergirl’s hand shifted slightly, the heroine’s fingers oh so gently moving Lena’s hand so she could uncross her arms. Lena allowed herself to indulge in the warmth from the Super’s touch as she sighed and let her posture slacken just a bit. Her eyes still closed, she let herself enjoy the feeling of Supergirl’s thumb tracing a small circle on the back of her hand.

“I was scared I wouldn’t get here in time,” Supergirl said suddenly. Lena eyes flashed open at the shakiness she heard in the blonde’s words. She found that the Kryptonian’s line of sight was fixed on where their hands were connected, a crinkle between her brow. “That guy had a gun and you were the only one in here with him and…”

Lena bit her lower lip, fighting her desire to wrap the other woman in an embrace. She settled for turning her hand over to entwine her fingers with her hero’s, giving a squeeze. “And then you saved me, so thank you,” she said sincerely.

“Yeah,” Supergirl nodded. “Yeah, you’re safe now.” She let out the tiniest exhale before drawing herself up. Lena watched as the downcast look in her eyes faded and was replaced by a familiar sparkle of determination and pride.

Supergirl pulled up a charming smile as she declared, “You were great, Miss Luthor! The guys outside weren’t happy when their weapons went _poof_.”

“I’m personally rather happy with that result, and I hope the NCPD are as well,” Lena replied. Recalling something Baldy mentioned, she asked, “What about the kryptonite bomb?”

Supergirl’s grin widened. “Piece of cake! There were two, actually, but you know… Girl of Steel and all that. They didn’t even go off,” she said dismissively.

Lena held back a laugh and shook her head fondly. “I’m glad that Mother and her henchmen are skilled at underestimating you.”

“Underestimating _us_ ,” Supergirl clarified, still grinning. The superhero looked as though she was about to say more, but then she tilted her head towards the entrance of the ballroom. “Maggie’s coming,” she announced, pulling away from Lena slowly.

The CEO cleared her throat and nodded. She was reluctant to let go of the hand in hers, but she had the feeling a certain detective would pick up on that so she let Supergirl’s fingers slip from her own. She instantly missed the warmth of having the alien so close to her when they both dutifully stepped about a foot apart and faced the door.

Detective Maggie Sawyer walked in flanked by two more National City police officers. She immediately caught sight of the Super and Luthor and made her way towards the pair. Lena’s lifted an eyebrow when she noticed how the detective’s mouth was turned upwards in subtle smirk.

“Sorry for the delay in getting here,” Maggie said. “We figured Supergirl got you covered while we took care of the goons out front.”

“I trust nobody is hurt?” Lena asked, her eyes following the other two officers as they moved to prod at Baldy, who was still unconscious, handcuffs at the ready.

Maggie’s followed Lena’s line of sight before focusing back on the Luthor. “Aside from Cadmus members, no major injuries. You actually saved Mark over there with your device,” she said, jerking her head towards one of the men crouched near Baldy. The detective stuck out her hand. “On behalf of the NCPD, thank you for the help, Miss Luthor.”

“Just doing my part, Detective,” Lena deflected as she shook the offered hand. “I’m glad nobody was badly hurt.”

“So am I,” Maggie agreed. Her eyes flicked over to Supergirl as she suddenly grinned. “Supergirl was just about ready to tear this room apart.”

“Miss Luthor doesn’t need to kno–” The blonde’s stern protest was cut off as Maggie plowed on mercilessly.

“She may or may not have threatened an upstanding officer too.”

Supergirl snorted. “I don’t see any upstanding officer here,” she scoffed but the petulant expression on her face gave her away.

Lena couldn’t help the chuckle that slipped out nor could she resist teasing the Kyrptonian. “Supergirl!” she said in a scandalous tone. “I hope you didn’t offer a one-way trip to Antarctica.”

The hero practically blanched while Maggie looked impressed. “As a matter of fact she did,” the detective reported. “Can’t say I enjoyed that particular threat.”

“Who’s threatening who now?” A new voice cut into the conversation.

Alex Danvers walked into the room, followed by some black-clad agents as they fanned out to examine the ballroom. Her face bore a look of suspicion, though Lena was glad to see that it was directed towards Detective Sawyer and Supergirl rather than herself.

“Agent Danvers!” Supergirl beamed. “So good to see you.”

“Agent Danvers!” Maggie exclaimed. “What a sight for sore eyes.”

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes, ignoring the pair. “Miss Luthor,” she greeted with a more neutral expression.

“Agent,” Lena returned, deciding not to tack on “Danvers” at the end. “I’m assuming you’ve apprehended Doctor West?”

“We did, thanks to you.” Alex gave a small but sincere smile before turning to Supergirl. “Unfortunately, we have a different situation over by Wilshire that may require Supergirl’s assistance.”

Supergirl blinked and then took on a more serious air. “I’ll be right there,” she promised. She took a step towards the youngest Luthor. “Are you going to be okay?”

Lena hesitated, thinking over her reply as their eyes met. When she saw nothing but concern reflected back at her, a small smile naturally came to her lips. “I will be.”

Accepting this answer, Supergirl nodded with her grin back on her face. It seemed like she wanted to say something but then thought otherwise as she leaned a fraction of an inch closer to the CEO of L-Corp.

Lena could have sworn she felt a soft, feather-light sensation press against her hairline, spreading warmth throughout her body. Before she could say anything, however, Supergirl vanished from her side in a blur of red and blue, leaving Lena to stare after her.

The Luthor became momentarily lost in her own thoughts, but next to her, Maggie Sawyer nudged Alex Danvers and winked.


	4. IV

“Maybe Lena knows already.”

“Maybe.”

“Or maybe she doesn’t?”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe she’s figuring it out…”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe we should get a team of puppies for the DEO.”

“No.”

Kara Danvers pouted. The blonde was perched atop a table in a DEO lab room, clad in her superhero costume as her sister worked on a device next to her. The agent shot an exasperated look at Kara out of the corner of her eye, getting a shrug in return.

“It was worth a shot,” Kara mumbled before sighing.

Alex Danvers shook her head fondly. Squinting at the machine in front of her, she carefully unscrewed a bolt as she said, “I’m actually listening, you know.”

“Then say something other than “maybe”?” Kara suggested. “Having a bunch of dogs around would be good for morale though, seriously.”

“Not having to babysit a bunch of animals is good for morale,” Alex shot back. “Also, you’ve been going in circles and repeating yourself for… five minutes straight now.”

Glancing towards a clock on the wall, Kara internally winced when she saw that Alex was correct.

“Yeah, but I really don’t know if she knows or not,” Supergirl practically whined. “Sometimes she says... _things_ that makes it sound like she knows.”

“Right. Things,” Alex repeated while tugging on a wire. “Didn't she say you were ‘out of this world’ when I ran into you guys at Noonan’s yesterday?”

“Exactly!” Kara nodded earnestly. “I mean I guess normal people say that, but she had like this… look in her eyes, you know?”

The elder Danvers muttered something that sounded strangely like ‘heart eyes’ under her breath. She grunted as she yanked harder on the wire before asking, “Then what makes you think she doesn't?”

Kara narrowed her eyes at her sister until she decided to ignore that suspicious comment. She casually reached over and unplugged the stubborn wire Alex was wrestling with, handing it over. The blonde then sat quietly, a pensive look slowly appearing on her face.

“I think she… treats us a little differently.”

Alex, sensing a shift in Kara’s mood, set down the screwdriver in her hand and directed her full attention towards her sister. She watched Kara, observing the Kryptonian who seemed to be lost in thought. She patiently waited for Kara to verbalize whatever was on her mind.

“With Kara Danvers she’s… like a best friend,” Kara finally said. “We go out together, we chat about anything and everything, we joke around—she even laughs at some of my dumbest puns.”

This earned a raised eyebrow from Alex, but the agent only said, “Then what about Supergirl?”

“With Supergirl, she’s more like…” Kara frowned thoughtfully, searching for the right word. Her nose scrunched a little until she finally settled for saying, “A partner.”

“A partner,” Alex repeated. “Like a partner in risking your lives and fighting Cadmus?”

“No– I mean yeah we do that too, but…” Kara made a vague hand gesture as she directed her eyes towards the ceiling. “More than that, you know?”

Alex’s eyebrow crept a little higher. “I’m not… sure if I know, so do you want to explain?”

Kara hesitated as she brought her eyes to meet Alex’s. She scanned her sibling’s face for any trace of distrust, doubt, and the general skepticism that was all too common when people discussed Lena Luthor. However, when all she saw was a neutral curiosity and sisterly concern, Kara found the courage to confess, “Supergirl– _I_ hang out with her at night sometimes.”

“Okay, and?”

“And– Wait, you already know?”

Alex placed her hands on her hips and shot Kara a look. “It doesn’t take at least half an hour to check in on someone,” she pointed out.

Thrown a bit off rhythm, Kara opened her mouth, scrambling for some excuse or defense, but the way Alex was staring at her made her stop. “Okay, you have a point there,” Supergirl conceded, eyes flitting back to the ceiling.

“So you guys hang out, and?” Alex prompted.

When Kara fell into a contemplative silence again, Alex nudged her knee, urging the blonde to scoot over a bit. Kara floated to the side a few inches and Alex hoisted herself onto the table, taking a seat next to her sister.

“We… we _talk_ ,” Kara finally stated, turning to look at Alex. “We talk about things like our fears and worries, we talk about L-Corp and National City, we talk about Kal and Lex, and… She listens to me talk about home.”

Alex immediately nodded in understanding, swinging an arm around her sister’s shoulder to pull her into a hug. Kara leaned into the embrace, sighing as she continued, “I feel like she gets it, the weight of things that… used to be but _aren’t_ anymore. The things that we still have to protect.”

Alex squeezed Kara’s shoulder. “It’s not exactly the same, but you’re the last child of Krypton,” she said softly. “And she’s the last Luthor.”

“Yeah,” Kara agreed, resting her head against Alex. “I mean we talk about some of this stuff when I’m Kara Danvers too, but it’s _different_. She talks to Kara Danvers like a best friend and she talks to Supergirl like a partner, so maybe she treats us differently because she thinks we’re different.”

“Or,” Alex said slowly. “Maybe she’s just responding to how you’re different in and out of your suit. Also, she’s not _supposed_ to know, remember?”

Kara groaned. “So since I act differently because I don’t know if she knows or not, she treats us differently… so I don’t know if she knows or not.”

“Pretty much,” Alex said, patting Kara’s shoulder in sympathy. “You want to know who knows if she knows?”

Supergirl resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the tangle of words. “Who?”

“Lena.”

Kara stared at Alex for five whole seconds until she gave her sister a playful shove. “I thought you were going to say Maggie or someone!”

Alex pushed back with a chuckle. “They’ve only hung out once and besides, that would be way too easy.”

“I don’t mind things being easy for once,” Kara huffed as she crossed her arms. “Do you _think_ she knows?”

Alex gave a noncommittal shrug as she jumped to her feet. “Probably? The woman’s a genius. Just look at what she can make,” she said, picking up her abandoned screwdriver to resume poking at the device sitting on the table. “Winn’s going to flip when he learns that Lena let us have this…”

Kara grinned in pride for her friend. Swinging her legs idly, the blonde thought back to the last time Alex spoke of Lena with suspicion, either outright or hidden. Affection for both women swelled in her chest as she realized that it had been quite a while.

“Alex?” Kara called out. When she received a hum in response, she said, “I want to tell her.”

“Okay,” came the immediate reply. “Don’t forget about the paperwork.”

Supergirl’s smile brightened at her sister’s easy acceptance until it began to fade when another worry announced itself.

“She won’t hate me, right?” Kara asked quietly, her eyes dropping to the ground with her brows furrowed.

Alex looked up from the section of the device she was tinkering with, confusion clear on her face. “Why would she hate you?”

Shifting uneasily, Kara reminded herself not to grip the table too tightly as she said, “Even if she knows or doesn’t know, if I tell her… we’ll have to face the truth. We’ll have to actually acknowledge the fact that Kara Danvers is Supergirl, the fact that I’ve _lied_ to her face multiple times–”

“Kara,” Alex interjected, cutting her off. She placed her hand over her sister’s. “You’re over thinking it,” she said gently but firmly.

“But it’s true!” Kara protested. “I’ve been lying to her from the start, Alex.”

“And, like I said earlier, she’s a genius,” Alex stated calmly. “She’ll get why.”

“Yeah, but…” Kara waved her free hand in the air, unsure how to express the doubt inside her. She resorted to sighing loudly.

“You said so yourself, didn’t you? She’s like your partner and your best friend. Have some more faith in her—and in yourself,” Alex urged.

Kara nodded slowly. “I just don’t want to lose her,” she admitted.

“I know,” Alex said with an understanding smile. “And you won’t. Even I can see how much she enjoys being with Kara Danvers and how much she cares for Supergirl.”

Kara nodded again, this time with more conviction as she took in her sister’s words. “Thanks, Alex,” the heroine said sincerely, grateful as always that the older Danvers was here to bolster her whenever she faltered.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Alex reassured her as she went back to unscrewing another component on the device. “Besides, if for whatever reason Lena isn’t happy about it, I can always head over to L-Corp to have a little chat with her.”

“Don’t threaten her,” Kara said with a half-hearted scowl. “Or I’ll tell Winn that you’re hiding this generator from him.”

“I’m not hiding it from him,” Alex automatically denied. “I’m just taking a look before he goes and modifies everything. It looks like Lena did an amazing job though,” she mused as she picked up some papers.

A fond smile spread across Kara’s face yet again. The blonde hummed quietly as Alex worked, enjoying the company of her sister that encouraged her in so many aspects of her life.

The superhero’s mind wandered over to Lena, thinking of the next time they were supposed to hang out. The CEO had been quite busy lately with the end of the quarter coming up, so the pair hadn’t been spending as much time together as they’d like. Kara noted that aside from potential stolen moments and short visits, their next meet up would be their weekly lunch date– outing. She scrolled through a mental list of restaurants, looking for somewhere that could hopefully set the mood for a big reveal later. After all, it wasn’t exactly easy to make confessions of identity or confessions of feelings–

Kara paused.

“Alex?” she called out again.

Alex carefully set down the blueprints she was examining. “Yes?”

“Do think Lena _like_ likes me?

“… What are you, twelve?”

* * *

So it turns out that Lena Luthor is _distracting_.

Kara had everything mapped out: first, she would invite Lena to lunch at the cozy, candlelit Italian restaurant they found together a few weeks back. Lena had offhandedly mentioned enjoying the soothing ambience and intimacy that place offered, and Kara wasn’t going to disagree. During the meal, she could assess the CEO’s mood and see if there were any employees or business partners that deserved extra firm, Kryptonian-grade handshakes. If Lena needed a bit of cheering up, Kara could scrounge up some anecdotes and jokes. If she didn’t need a pick-me-up… well, Kara liked the sound of Lena’s laughter anyways.

Maybe somewhere during the meal, Kara would find the chance to slip in a joke along the lines of “You know what’s hotter than this soup? My eyes. Because heat vision.” Hopefully with some luck, timing, and the benefits of humor, Lena would take the revelation in stride and not make a big deal out of it. If she wasn’t pleased with the information… well, Kara always wanted to see how many breadsticks she could carry out the door and take to Australia. Or maybe the moon would be far enough.

If no such window of opportunity showed up during their lunch, Kara could always drop the Kara-Danvers-Is-Supergirl bomb on Lena once they were back in the safety of her friend’s office. She prepared five different ways she could tell Lena that she was Supergirl in that setting, though technically she had four since she strongly suspected that Lena would not appreciate her randomly “falling off” the CEO’s balcony. Either way, she kept that balcony in mind as a quick escape route in case things went south.

Unfortunately, Kara’s imagined scenarios slowly fell apart as her plan backfired right from the beginning. Lena Luthor was _distracting_.

It started with the way Lena broke into a smile as soon as she realized where they were headed to for lunch. Kara immediately felt like she could fight ten Metallos at once and come out victorious from the appreciative, almost shy smile the CEO flashed at her. The blonde was so preoccupied with that smile that she nearly walked right through the door of the restaurant, but she managed to stop herself in time. Kara temporarily pulled herself together thanks to the restaurant’s menu and the ever-important task of ordering food, though the twinkle in her friend’s eyes didn’t go away.

That sparkle in Lena’s eyes changed to a different kind of glint as she spoke about her recent exploits as L-Corp’s CEO. Kara listened with rapt attention, enchanted as always by the passion her friend exhibited in regards to her company and what it meant to the world. However, focusing too much on one thing can also be known as being _distracted_ , as evidenced by the fact that Kara’s big reveal gradually slipped from her mind while her elbow nearly slipped from the table. Twice.

Kara’s “You know what’s hotter than this soup?” line crumbled into pieces when some unseen force possessed her and made her accidentally blurt out “You!” as the answer. Lena’s graceful snort of laughter was worth the instant embarrassment Kara felt, but that deterred her from trying anything else that could be interpreted as random pickup lines. Suffice to say, Lena’s entertained smirk and gentle laughter throughout their lunch wasn’t helping Kara and her goal at all.

Kara certainly wasn’t complaining though. By now, the heroine was pretty sure that she had some sort of addiction to the various kinds of joy and amusement Lena was willing to show her. Her super secret could be put aside for a bit while she enjoyed the glimmer in Lena’s eyes as the brunette listened to Kara speak about Supergirl’s latest triumph.

Unfortunately, there was a nagging voice inside Kara that was slowly getting louder. Kara didn’t want to dwell on what that voice pointed out: she was avoiding the truth not only because Lena was so radiant, but also because she was too afraid of losing her light.

Thinking back to Alex’s words helped keep that voice at bay as Kara and Lena left the restaurant and made their way back to L-Corp. Recalling Cat Grant’s words of wisdom and the encouragement to “dive,” Kara tried to summon all the courage she could muster in the elevator ride up to Lena’s floor. Her trepidation must have leaked onto her face since Lena gave her a worried tilt of the head, but Kara merely smiled at her friend in what she hoped was a reassuring manner.

Kara was so busy bracing herself for the impending conversation that she almost missed the strangely empty desks on the way to Lena’s office. However, Lena’s split second of hesitation when she stepped off the elevator was enough to alert Kara and her senses. Both friends carefully scanned the floor for signs of life as Kara subtly took a step in front of Lena.

“You didn’t send everyone home this early, did you?” Kara asked cautiously, hands itching to lower her glasses. She focused her ears, picking up the heartbeat of a stranger somewhere nearby.

“No,” Lena replied with narrowed eyes. “Jess said she was going to take some people out for a luncheon, but Alana should be here at least.”

Kara bristled at the mention of this particular assistant. The woman had always rubbed her the wrong way with her fake smiles and general lack of sincerity whenever they interacted.  Kara opened her mouth to voice her doubts about Lena’s assistant, but an odd whirring sound stopped her.

Listening more closely, Kara stiffened when she realized the sound was coming from the direction of Lena’s office. The blonde took another step in front of her friend as the whirring started getting closer, accompanied by the sounds of two rather heavy pairs of feet. Alarms went off in her head as she did the math: four feet + one heartbeat = not good.

“Kara–” The Kryptonian cut her friend off with an urgent shake of the head.

Lena seemed to have picked up on the prospective danger looming ahead despite not having superhearing. The CEO quickly moved back towards the elevators, hitting the button to call one up. Kara internally groaned when the button dinged but the elevator door didn’t, indicating that they would have to wait.

The whirring sound picked up, followed by a man’s voice. “I think she might be at the elevator,” he said, his footsteps speeding up. Kara listened intently as he appeared to break away from his companion to check on the situation.

“Stay behind me,” Kara ordered over her shoulder. She prayed Lena would heed her as she waited for the mystery man to round the corner nearest to them.

Sure enough, a questionable looking fellow that Kara didn’t recognize stepped out of the corner with a surprised shout. His face hardened as he reached into his clothes for a gun or something, rapidly approaching the reporter and CEO. He opened his mouth as he got closer and a glint of metal was visible in his jacket.

“On behalf of Cadmus–”

Kara punched him.

The man crumpled instantly, Kara noticed with satisfaction. She was extra pleased when the elevator behind her announced its arrival. The blonde was about to tell Lena to hurry and get inside as soon as the door opened, but the entrance of the last pair of feet made her stop.

A black, metallic, humanoid-shaped… thing stepped out of where the now-KO’d man had appeared. It looked like it would fit right into Star Wars with how closely it resembled some of the droids from the films. Battle droids, Kara noted with another silent groan. She braced herself as the machine made what could count as eye contact with her.

“Target acquired.”

“Oh no,” Kara groaned out loud this time.

Kara barely had time to see if Lena was in the elevator as a light on the robot’s head lit up red and its chest area began to glow. The superhero realized with horror that if that thing went off with enough force, Lena’s ride down would be cut short in a manner that neither of them wanted.

Fortunately, Lena was aware of this fact as well, judging from the way the Luthor stepped out of the elevator in record time and yanked roughly on Kara’s shirt. Kara let herself be tugged along, keeping herself between Lena and the murderous machine. The duo got out of the way right as the robot fired, blasting straight into the elevator.

The shockwave from the explosion was smaller than Kara expected, though her vision was now filled with dust and smoke. She quickly whipped off her glasses to focus on the robot, which was aiming straight at her with another blast queued up. This time, its chest glowed even brighter as a bad omen and huge warning.

Kara didn’t hesitate, leaping straight at the machine. She used one hand to grab its head and pushed while her other hand was placed on its shoulder, pulling with force until she decapitated the machine, wires crackling in the open air. For a fraction of a second, the robot’s glowing dimmed and Kara nearly took a breath of relief until the glowing returned in full force.

The machine exploded.

Kara stumbled backwards in a daze, her ears buzzing from the robot’s detonation and her front prickling from the blast. She was vaguely aware of someone whispering her name from behind as she dropped the remaining bits of metal she was still holding. Looking down, the superhero was glad to see that the machine didn’t leave too big a scorch mark.

Distant sirens and alarms broke through the haze muddling Kara’s brain. The Kryptonian’s head snapped up and she hastily dashed over to where Lena was standing, scanning her friend for signs of injury.

“Lena! Are you okay?”

“I– I’m fine,” Lena answered automatically, though she sounded distant. Despite her words, the younger woman looked pained and Kara quickly glanced at her body again, making sure she didn’t miss any injuries.

“What’s wrong?” Kara asked urgently, grabbing her friend’s shoulders out of concern.

Kara let go when Lena shook her head. She watched as the brunette shut her eyes and took a deep breath, presumably to calm herself. Lena then exhaled in a shaky sigh, arms curling around herself.

Panic rose in Kara’s chest, momentarily strangling her when she came to the realization that Lena wasn’t meeting her eyes. Nausea clawed its way into her stomach as she figured out _why_ her friend couldn’t look her in the face.

“Lena…” Kara called out softly, receiving no answer.

Kara barely felt the brush of Lena’s fingers against her collar as the Luthor carefully pushed aside the scraps of burnt clothing still clinging to Kara’s body. The Kryptonian didn’t need to look down to see what had Lena’s attention as she let the remains of her shirt fall to the floor. Hands shaking even though they were balled into fists, Kara made no move to stop Lena as the person so dear to her slowly placed her palm onto the crest of the House of El.

Swallowing down the hardness in her throat, Kara searched Lena’s face intently, but her friend’s expression was now unreadable.

“Lena,” Kara tried again. “I– I was going to tell you, I swear. You can even ask Alex.”

Something Kara couldn’t identify flickered across Lena’s face and she finally looked up, fixing Kara with a stare. The Kryptonian wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not, so she pressed on while she still had the courage.

“I was supposed to tell you during lunch but I chickened out, so then I promised myself I would tell you once we got to your office but then _this_ happened and–”

Kara broke off to gesture at where the robot once stood, her fist clenching and then unclenching. It was her turn to look away from Lena as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration, silently cursing Cadmus and herself.

“I didn’t mean for you to find out this way,” Kara stated desperately when she finally turned back to Lena. “I probably should have seen this coming because stuff like this always happens to me, but really, it wasn’t supposed to be this way. It… It wasn’t supposed to be like this at all.”

“Kara, it’s fi–”

Kara’s eyes slammed shut and she could feel the faint sting of tears start to build up in them when Lena was cut off by an indistinct shout. A part of her wanted to scream, the same part that wanted to ignore the panicked voices travelling up the nearby stairwell. Another part knew that Lena’s safety was the most important though, so she listened carefully and picked out a few familiar voices including Roger from security and Jess the Secretary.

The comfort of knowing allies were on the way briefly invigorated Kara, though it also reminded her of the anxiety sitting in her gut. Recalling her previous conversation with Alex, Kara summoned her courage and took a deep breath.

“Lena, _please_ …”

Kara wasn’t even sure what she was begging for at this point, but she tried to convey her feelings in this final plea. Willing her unshed tears away, she did her best to meet Lena’s eyes by channeling her bravery as Supergirl.

Kara had been bracing for anger, betrayal, disappointment, or maybe even cold apathy when she finally identified whatever Lena was leaving unspoken. Instead, when sky blue met pale green, Kara was greeted with the warmth that she had grown to cherish so deeply.

Lena slowly took her hand that was still on Kara’s crest and moved it to the superhero’s cheek, cupping it gently. Kara obliged with the gentle pull she felt, tilting her head down as her friend took a step closer.

Lena softly placed a kiss on Kara’s forehead. In that instant, Kara knew everything would be okay.

“It’s different, knowing and _seeing_ ,” Lena murmured as she pulled away, hand still cradling Kara’s face.

“You… you already knew?” Kara breathed out, nearly sagging in relief.

“I did,” Lena chuckled. “Though that didn’t prepare me for seeing my supposedly human friend almost get blown up… I hope you’ll forgive my reaction.”

“Of– Of course,” Kara answered immediately. Nodding rapidly, she mustered her own grin. “I mean humans do need extra time to process information.”

Lena pretended to look offended at this, but before the CEO could fire back at Kara, there was an explosion from outside. Kara’s back straightened at once, her eyes sharp and resolute.

“Duty calls,” Lena announced with a wry smile, withdrawing her hand. “We can talk more later.”

“Sorry,” Kara said quietly even as she quickly glanced around for a window she could leap out of. “I have to–”

“Don’t apologize,” Lena interrupted firmly. Her voice softened as she continued, “I just want you to know this: I believe in you, Kara. All of you.”

Kara didn’t realize how much more she could _feel_ for Lena Luthor, but here she was, unable to find the words that could properly articulate all of the emotions flooding her.

“Go, Supergirl,” Lena urged. “National City needs you.”

Kara nodded as she moved towards the nearest window. Turning back to her friend one last time, she sent her a determined look. “I’ll come back to you soon, I promise.”

With that vow tucked carefully inside her heart, Supergirl launched into the sky.


	5. 5.

“Cadmus is _so_ backwards.”

“I thought all their crazy genocide attempts and overall xenophobic insanity already established that.”

Supergirl grimaced with distaste as she looked over Winn Schott’s shoulder to see the cube-like device he was tinkering with at his workstation. Her eyes quickly flitted over the computer monitors he had nearby, skimming the blueprint he had displayed.

“You have a point there,” Kara acknowledged. “But I’m talking about these… hunks of metal they call force field generators.”

Winn didn’t bother looking at his friend as he held one of the so-called hunks of metal to the light. He hummed thoughtfully for a few seconds until he turned to his keyboard, rapidly typing in some numbers. He waited for his computer to spit out some data before sighing.

“ _You_ have a point there,” he grumbled. “I almost want to go up to whoever made this and ask them what they were thinking. Maybe they weren’t thinking at all.”

“Probably not,” Kara agreed, nose scrunching. “I mean it looks like they found something that kind of works… but they don’t know how or why.”

“No wonder this one’s a total dud,” Winn said. He pried the metallic box open, wincing when he took a look inside. “Okay, why would you wire the power panel to the field emitter like that? And did they just shove the Angaran crystal thingy into a random space?”

Kara glanced down to see what Winn was complaining about. “Um…” she started slowly. “You sure you want to pull on it like that?”

Winn gave a dismissive shrug. “I want to take a closer look. Besides, it’s not like it’s radioactive or anything.”

“Then let me do it,” Kara offered, holding her hand out. Winn obliged and passed the box over. Kara squinted at the Luthor Corp logo engraved on one of the components within the machine before prodding the alien mineral nested in a corner. “It’s pretty tight in there.”

Winn coughed conspicuously. “That’s what she said.”

Supergirl shot Winn a disapproving look. She stared at him for a few seconds, earning a sheepish grin, until she went back to examining the force field generator. The Kryptonian gave a small, experimental pull on the crystal before suddenly freezing. “Okay, these things aren’t supposed to give off sparks like that.”

The resident tech nerd raised his eyebrows in surprise and peered into the box. “You said Angaran crystals are blue, right…?” Winn asked.

“Yep,” Kara affirmed with a nod, her fingers still holding said crystal. “And this one’s purple.”

“Maybe that’s because Cadmus tampered with it?” Winn suggested. “Just take it out in one go.”

“I can hear a voice that sounds like Alex and it’s saying that’s a bad idea…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Winn insisted. “It’s not like it’s going to suddenly explo–”

It exploded.

A bit of ice breath, a few panicked shouts, and a couple reproachful stares later, Kara let out a sigh as she leaned against Winn’s desk. A burnt smell lingered in the air, but the blonde was glad that the only damage from the explosion was Winn’s pride.

“Okay,” Winn said as he dropped back into his seat. “Next time, we listen to the Alex voice. I can already hear it say ‘I told you so’…”

“Good thing she’s not actually here… right?” Kara glanced around quickly and searched for signs of her sister, half expecting her to pop out with a lecture at any second.

Winn let out a relieved chuckle as he pulled his chair up to his computer. “Thankfully, no. J’onn sent her out,” he said while squinting at his screen. “Now back to the fun stuff: how do I reverse engineer this mess?”

“How much longer do we have?” Kara asked, crossing her arms with a frown. “If we can’t break into Cadmus’s vaults in time…”

Winn made a face. “Ugh, I know. J’onn’s been reminding me nonstop. That’s why he told Alex to go get a ‘specialist’,” he said, drawing air quotes with his fingers.

Kara tilted her head in curiosity, but before she could ask any questions, a particular sound from another part of the DEO base caught her attention. Brow furrowed, she focused her hearing to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. Sure enough, a pair of recognizable voices were conversing, one of them Kara wasn’t expecting.

“Lena’s here,” Kara breathed out in surprise. Her mouth was agape as she listened to the familiar murmur of her dear friend’s voice travelling through several walls.

Winn let out his own noise of astonishment, though it came out more like an undignified squeal than anything else. “Lena? Lena Luthor?” he gasped. “She’s the specialist? Oh my god. Why didn’t you tell me!?”

Winn’s words broke Kara out of her little trance. “I didn’t even know we were getting a specialist,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, but aren’t you the Lena expert?” Winn shot back. “Don’t you know all her lunch hours and when she leaves work and–”

“Why do you make it sound like I’m her stalker?”

“Well, you do fly around her apartment like every other night.”

“It’s called checking in on her! A– As a friend.”

“I don’t see you checking in on _me_ before your bedtime.”

“That’s becau– Why are we even arguing about this?” Kara huffed as she threw up her arms.

“I don’t know! Why are we sitting here while Lena Luthor is out there?” Winn asked as he mirrored the blonde’s action.

The two friends stared at each other with incredulous faces before Kara suddenly disappeared down the hall. She winced in sympathy as she heard Winn smack his knee against his desk as he jumped up to follow her in haste.

“I’m fine!” he groaned from somewhere behind her. “Oh my god though, Lena Luthor is here…”

Winn’s mumbling grew distant as Kara sped to the main lobby of their headquarters. A grin crept its way onto her face when she spotted two of her favorite people talking quietly on a walkway. She almost wanted to surprise them through clever application of super speed, but she thought better of that idea and slowed down to a more human pace.

Alex spotted Supergirl first since she happened to be facing her direction. The agent nodded to acknowledge her approach, which alerted the other person to her presence. Kara’s breath caught in her throat as Lena slowly turned around.

The reddish hue of sunset filtered in through a nearby window, basking Lena in a color that reminded Kara of home. Of course, this wasn’t the first time that she’d seen Lena at dusk, but each time gave her a twinge of longing. The dull ache in her heart was soothed as she met Lena’s gaze, the CEO breaking out into a smile that Kara couldn’t help but return. The two didn’t need words as they looked into each other’s eyes.

Alex cleared her throat loudly.

Lena instantly broke eye contact with Kara, who stared in wonder at the faint signs of pink on the Luthor’s cheeks. Before Kara could fully understand or appreciate the hint of embarrassment, however, there was a loud yelp.

“Oh my god, it really is her!” Winn shouted in excitement as he came running from behind Kara, nearly crashing into her. He barely maneuvered around the Girl of Steel without tripping, but that fact seemed to slip by him as he went up directly to his source of interest. “I get to work with you, right? Tell me I get to work with you.”

If Lena was surprised by Winn’s sudden and enthusiastic approach, she masked it well as she quickly put on a pleasant smile and extended her hand. “It’s good to see you again, Mr. Schott. According to Alex, we will indeed be ruining another one of my mother’s plans together.”

Kara was almost worried that her former Catco co-worker was going to let out another squeal, but Winn managed to pull himself together, grasping Lena’s hand with a huge grin. “Awesome! Oh man, it’s going to be great working with you. You’re a freakin’ genius!” he gushed. “L-Corp’s new microprocessor prototypes are absolutely _brilliant_ considering how you guys designed them to be completely recyclable without compro–”

“Winn,” Alex cut in with a warning tone, her arms crossed. “We’re on a bit of a time crunch. You can save the geeking out for later.”

“R- Right,” Winn nodded rapidly. “Gotta figure out the force field fiasco first.”

“Let’s get to it then,” Alex said decisively, patting Winn on the shoulder harder than necessary. “I’ll help you clear out the lab where you two will be working.” Still holding onto Winn’s shoulder, Alex steered him away back to his workstation.

“Well… Someone’s certainly eager,” Lena said with amusement, watching as Winn practically got dragged away.

“I told you he’s become your biggest fan,” Kara grinned as she gently nudged her friend.

Lena pretended to look hurt, pouting in a way that made Kara want to imitate Winn’s earlier squeal. “And here I thought my number one fan was you,” the CEO said with a sad tilt of her head.

Kara stared at her friend for a second before quickly remembering to reply. “Maybe I’m your number _zero_ fan,” the blonde managed to get out, tacking on a cheesy grin at the end.

“In that case…” Lena pretended to think about the matter, her eyes narrowed until she suddenly took a step closer to Kara.

Kara found herself fighting the urge to zoom backwards from Lena’s unexpectedly close proximity. At the same time, she also had the traitorous desire to move forward herself until they were mere inches apart. The Kryptonian quietly praised her own self control as she remained rooted in spot, once again looking deep into Lena’s eyes. She idly wondered if Lena’s eyes were bluer than usual today as the faintest trace of a smirk appeared on the Luthor’s lips.

“Kara Zor-El…” Lena said solemnly, raising a hand and placing it on Supergirl’s crest.

“Y- Yeah?”

“I am _your_ number zero fan.”

Kara knew that line was supposed to be filled to the brim with cheese. She knew that Lena was saying it in the tackiest way possible on purpose. She knew that her friend was intentionally being sappy to the point of being silly. Kara knew all of this and yet she couldn’t stop the rush of affection that filled her, bringing a wide smile to her face. The superhero was pretty sure she was grinning like an idiot, but at that moment in time, she found herself not caring at all.

The embarrassment hit Kara later when she found out that J’onn of all people had taken a picture of them on his phone.

* * *

“Wow, so Winn really wasn’t kidding when he said you were here.”

Lena Luthor stiffened as she heard a voice from behind, the words no doubt directed towards her. Crossing her arms, she took a deep breath before turning away from the giant monitor in the middle of the DEO control center.

“A bit of a surprise, isn’t it? A Luthor helping a Super,” Lena said evenly as she regarded the man walking towards her. Her eyes narrowed as she braced for the type of confrontation she had been expecting since she set foot in the DEO, so she was instantly caught off guard by the man’s affable demeanor.

“Nah,” James Olsen grinned with a shake of his head. “That’s not new. It’s just nice to see a fellow CEO doing some overtime work here for the sake of justice.”

Lena relaxed a bit, pulling up her own smile. “I don’t think I’ll be coming close to your hours, Mr. Olsen. Or should I call you the Guardian considering where we are?”

“Just James works,” the vigilante replied. Looking at the screen behind Lena, he nodded approvingly. “Great work, by the way. Winn says you guys basically seized control of all of their force fields.”

“We have Cadmus to thank for that. They made it easy.”

“Oh? Winn mentioned something about them using old Luthor Corp tech before he went to go fanboy about the blueprints you sent him.”

Lena suppressed a chuckle, recalling how thrilled Winn had been. “The problem with the battery cores Cadmus stole is that they’re quite unstable. Lex and his scientists never figured out how to control their power flow properly…”

James let out a laugh as he connected the dots. “But you did,” he concluded with another satisfied nod.

“Precisely,” Lena smirked. “It wasn’t too hard for us to make a remote for Alex to use.”

James continued smiling, clearly pleased by the turn of events, until a more serious look appeared on his face. “You know…” he started as he slowly turned to Lena. “I doubted you for quite a while,” the man admitted. “Even though Kara kept nagging me about how good you are.”

Lena sucked in a breath at the change in topic. “It’s understandable. You’re Clark’s friend and what happened between him and Lex…”

“Isn’t going to happen to you and Kara,” James stated firmly. “It took me a little too long to see that, so I’m sorry.”

Lena let her eyes drop to the floor briefly. Kara had informed her of the Guardian’s distrust of all Luthors before, and his former opinion was still shared by many in the world. Lena had prepared herself for hostile stares and whispered jibes on the way to the DEO, so she was already quite relieved when none of the agents at the base seemed to show much animosity.  She certainly wasn’t expecting to receive an apology though, but she did her best to hide her shock as she looked back up with a small smile.

“Thank you,” Lena said sincerely.

James returned the smile. “I should be the one thanking you,” he said. “It’s going to be great having another genius as part of the Superfriends.”

“… Superfriends?” Lena asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Winn’s name for our crew,” James explained with a roll of his eyes. “It’s kind of lame, but it works.”

“I’m not surprised he came up with that,” Lena said dryly. “I was almost worried that Superfriends is an official codename or something.”

“Alex would never let that happen,” James chuckled as he looked at a nearby screen. “Speaking of which, it looks like she and Kara are back.”

Lena instinctively turned towards the entrance of the DEO, eyes searching for signs of red and blue. This did not go unnoticed by the man standing next to her, who observed her for a moment before speaking up again.

“I’m glad you’re the one she’s with now,” James said.

Lena looked to him, puzzled by his words. “The one she’s with? You make it sound like–”

Before she could finish asking for clarification, a loud whoop rang out in the base. It was followed by a disgruntled shout that was probably Alex and then a whooshing sound as Supergirl made her triumphant return, landing right in front of Lena.

“Lena!” Kara exclaimed, completely ignoring all the agents that were starting to mill about. “Your device was awesome! You should have seen the look on Lillian’s face.”

“If it’s disappointment or disgust, I know what that looks like,” Lena responded with a wry smile.

Kara paused for a second to frown before shaking her head. “Okay, but the face she made when half of her guards ran straight into the field that Alex suddenly turned on? I think you would have enjoyed that.”

Picturing the scene in her mind, Lena let a laugh slip from her. “I knew it was a good idea to have Alex handle the remote.”

“I agree,” Kara grinned. “She probably won’t admit it, but I could tell she had fun messing with the goons in that vault.”

“No, I’ll admit it,” Alex cut in as she walked into the control center. “Screwing them over was definitely enjoyable.”

James chortled. “I bet Winn’s going to love hearing about this,” he said as he stepped away to summon his friend.

Alex smirked before turning towards Lena. “You did a great job today, Luthor. You should be proud,” she said as she gave the CEO a solid pat on the shoulder.

Kara beamed with pride for her friend as she slung an arm across Lena’s shoulder, pulling the shorter woman into a side-hug. Lena immediately felt the warmth of the Kryptonian’s arm due to her above-average body temperature, though that didn’t explain the heat that flooded her own cheeks when Alex raised both eyebrows in a rather peculiar expression. Kara seemed to have missed her sister’s reaction, instead using her head to nudge Lena’s gently.

“Lena Luthor,” Kara said directly into Lena’s ear. The CEO instantly knew she was doomed from the tone Supergirl was using.

“… Yes?”

“I am definitely _your_ number zero fan.”

Right then and there, smack in the middle of the DEO, Kara kissed Lena’s temple.

Lena Luthor’s fate was sealed.


	6. VI

“Now listen here, _Luthor_.”

Lena calmly folded her hands on the table in front of her and tilted her head. “Yes?”

Alex Danvers glared from where she was seated across Lena. She loudly placed an elbow on the table before pointing at the Luthor aggressively. “I don’t know what game you’re playing–”

“Do you really not?” Lena cut in coolly, raising an eyebrow in a taunt.

This made Alex pause for a second before the crinkle on the agent’s forehead deepened. “Okay, wrong choice of words, but that’s not the point.”

“Please get to the point then,” Maggie sighed as she leaned against her girlfriend with her head on the taller woman’s shoulder. “I want this nightmare to be over.”

Alex took a deep breath. “Now look here, Luthor,” she said seriously. “Just because you make my entire salary in a month–”

Winn Schott cleared his throat loudly. “Actually, she can make your annual salary in a week—but like you said, that’s not the point,” he finished hastily when Alex shot him an even more dangerous glare than the one she was already sporting. “G– Go on.”

“As I was saying,” Alex enunciated slowly before turning back to Lena. “Just because you make my entire salary in a week doesn’t mean you can just keep bluffing your way through poker.”

Lena pretended to look thoughtful for a second, narrowing her eyes at the agent. “Ah… but what if I actually do have a good hand this time?” she asked. A smirk slowly spread on her face as Alex visibly stiffened.

“I’m so glad I already lost,” James Olsen declared, throwing his hands up in defeat. Since he was sitting next to Winn, he patted the man’s shoulder. “Good luck, buddy.”

Next to Lena, Kara’s hands twitched towards her glasses. “Ugh, I wanna see what you guys have,” the superhero grumbled.

“No,” Winn and Alex said simultaneously.

“Lena doesn’t need any extra help,” Alex hissed. Her eyes darted from her own hand to the cards that were face up in the middle of the table, which consisted of two queens and an eight.

“I wasn’t going to tell her anything,” Kara gasped, offended at the accusation.

“Your face would probably give it away,” Maggie said with a chuckle before sighing again.

Kara gave a huff and turned to Lena. “I don’t think I’m that bad… You’ll let me look, right?” she asked with a smile.

Lena hesitated at the question. She almost wanted to reply by saying there was a reason Kara was the first to be eliminated tonight, but then Kara’s smile gradually began dropping into a frown. Lena swallowed and nodded before the blonde reached a full pout. “Of course,” she murmured, shifting her cards so that Kara could take a good look.

“Oh.” Kara blinked for a second in which Alex and Winn both leaned closer, observing her face intently. Winn almost looked as though he wanted to climb over the table to check Kara’s expression more carefully, but before either of Lena’s opponents could reach a conclusion, Kara plastered on a big smile directed at the two of them.

Alex sighed loudly. “You’re no help,” she mumbled as she went back to glaring at her own cards.

“Of course I’m not,” Kara proclaimed proudly, snaking an arm around Lena’s shoulder. “You’re not getting anything out of me.”

“Ugh,” Winn groaned. “Alex, do you call or not? I can’t handle the suspense anymore.”

“Fine! I call,” Alex said, slapping her cards down with more force than necessary. Maggie pushed over a portion of the agent’s chips to the middle of the table. Winn begrudgingly did the same with his nearly depleted pile while muttering under his breath.

James scanned the table carefully. “We ready for the flop?” When he received nods of various enthusiasm, he placed a card in the middle, revealing it as an ace of hearts.

Everyone at the table had on their best poker faces and nobody showed much of a reaction, although Kara shifted slightly in her seat. Alex zeroed in on the action instantly, staring at her sister but all she got was another innocent grin in return. All eyes shifted to L-Corp’s CEO, waiting for her move.

“I raise two hundred,” Lena announced with a smile. Protests broke out immediately.

“What did I say about bluffing–” Alex started but was interrupted by their other challenger.

“I don’t even _have_ two hundred,” Winn whined loudly.

Fully aware of that fact, Lena smirked. “You don’t,” she agreed as her eyes moved to the older Danvers. “But she does.”

Alex stared back, a fire blazing in her eyes. The agent took a deep breath before shoving what remained of her chips at the table. “I’m not falling for your tricks,” she stated confidently. “All in!”

This seemed to give Winn a second wind as he sat up straighter. “Yeah, we’re not falling for your bluffs anymore,” he said as he placed his last two chips in the pile. “All in!”

“That’s the spirit!” James said with a grin. Everyone watched with bated breath as he flipped over the last card, a three of hearts.

For a second, nobody moved. Then, Alex of all people started smirking as she flipped her cards over. “Flush,” she announced proudly, holding up her jack of hearts.

“Two pair,” Winn said sadly. His defeated king and eight were left forgotten when everyone turned to the last player.

Lena could feel Kara practically vibrate next to her as she very slowly and deliberately turned her own cards over.

Two queens.

“I need another drink,” Alex declared immediately. Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and moved towards the kitchen, a snickering Maggie following behind.

Winn looked as though his spirit had left him. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at nothing as he whispered, “She had a four-of-a-kind from the start…”

James kept patting the technician’s shoulder nonstop, shaking his head. “I’m so sorry, man,” he said in a somber tone. “I thought you guys had this one, if that’s any consolation.”

“Too bad!” Kara said cheerily. “Shouldn’t have called this bluff.”

“I think you’re enjoying their suffering a bit too much,” Lena chuckled.

“Pssh, no,” Kara denied. The Kryptonian pulled Lena closer as she said, “I’m just enjoying how you completely _destroyed_ everyone at your very first game night.”

“I thought we were being nice by letting the newbie pick the games but…” James’ voice trailed off, but he continued shaking his head sadly.

“Monopoly. With the world’s smartest businesswoman,” Winn whispered, still sounding completely dead.

“I warned you not to underestimate her just because she never played that before,” Kara said smugly.

“Stop sounding so happy,” Alex groused as she walked back with a beer in hand. “You lost the most out of everybody.”

Lena laughed at the indignant look that immediately surfaced on Supergirl’s face. “It’s okay, Kara,” the CEO said, placing her hand on her friend’s arm to appease her. “My victories tonight were in honor of my favorite hero.”

“Aww… thank you.” Kara brightened at once, head ducking down as she grinned widely. Lena smiled as well when her friend took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Has anyone told you how awesome you are?”

Maggie sipped at her can of beer in a strangely loud fashion, which Lena dutifully ignored as she returned the squeeze. “There’s a certain part time superhero that tells me that,” the CEO answered with an attempt at a wink.

Kara gasped loudly. “Should I be worried about this superhero?” she asked, eyes narrowing playfully.

“Why, are you jealous, Miss Danvers?”

“Not if Super–” Kara suddenly cut herself off, frowning as she looked to the other occupants of the room. “We’re not,” she said loudly. “Y– Yet.”

Lena tilted her head, wondering what she missed as she watched Winn quickly leap away from where everyone else was huddled. “What did they say?” the Luthor asked Kara, though she kept scanning the other four people.

The resident blonde let out an uneasy laugh, raising Lena’s suspicions. “D– Don’t worry about it,” Kara said airily, waving a hand dismissively. “They’re just being silly.”

“Is everything okay…?” Lena asked slowly, feeling a twinge of unease.

Kara seemed to pick up on this as she smiled softly. Rolling her eyes at the Superfriends, she lightly traced Lena’s knuckles with her thumb. “They’re just jealous of how close we are, so don’t mind those sore losers.”

“Excuse me,” Maggie interjected. “Sorry, but I object to that. The sore losers part,” she clarified as the Super and Luthor both turned to her. Tapping her watch with a smirk, the detective said, “It’s not even ten yet. We can still turn the tables on you two.”

“Yeah!” Winn jumped in excitedly. “Being L-Corp’s super genius isn’t going to help you win at Mario Party.”

“Hold on,” Alex ordered. “We said video games is next time. I need to defend my title as the champion of Candyland.”

“Wait, wait,” James said, holding his hand up. “I'm pretty sure we all agreed that we wanted to see Lena play charades.”

“Lena’s on my team,” Winn said quickly.

“No, she’s not!” Kara objected immediately. “She’s with me.”

James shook his head. “Settle down, kids. We all know that CEOs should stick together.”

“Sorry, but the Luthor-Sawyer team is where it’s at,” Maggie said while raising her beer.

“You’re all wrong,” Alex disagreed. “She’s on the winning team, which is my team.”

“I’m not sure how to feel about this sudden popularity,” Lena said dryly, crossing her arms as Alex’s declaration set off even more bickering.

Despite her words, a small smile came to her face as Kara’s– _their_ friends continued to argue over who would claim her as their teammate. Her own choice of partner wasn’t hard to figure out, but Lena couldn’t help but bask in the feeling of being wanted and having somewhere to be. Still smiling to herself, her gaze was drawn to the person that made this even possible.

“I saw her first,” Kara declared loudly while making equally robust gestures.

“I Googled her first!” Winn insisted as he ducked to avoid Kara’s arm

“I heard about her first,” James shot back.

“Oh my god,” Alex sighed. “What is wrong with you children?”

“You better get used to this, Luthor,” Maggie informed her solemnly. “These people take game night seriously.”

“I thought Kara was exaggerating, but…” Lena shook her head, still smiling to herself. Her eyes met Kara’s for a brief second in which the blonde flashed a grin at her, sending now-familiar butterflies through the Luthor’s stomach.

Lena could definitely get used to this.

* * *

So it turns out that Lena Luthor is _still_ distracting.

Kara fidgeted nervously on her couch, fingers playing with the end of her shirt as she tried and failed to pay attention to the TV. She was aware that the characters on screen were talking about something important, but her ears weren’t processing the words. Huffing in self-exasperation, the superhero hit the rewind button and tried to focus when the scene replayed.

Unfortunately, her brain refused to cooperate. The TV was still background noise to Kara, her mind drifting towards something else instead. The blonde was grateful that she was alone as she tried to fight down a blush.

If Lena Luthor was already distracting on a normal basis, Lena Luthor in Kara Danvers’ shower was downright _dangerous_.

When Kara had first asked Lena to stay the night, she didn’t realize that inadvertently invading her friend’s privacy would be a problem.

She had already come to terms with the idea of sharing a bed with Lena since there was no way Kara would let Lena sleep on the couch, and Lena was far too stubborn to let Kara sleep there either. Sure, Kara’s heart had wanted to leap out of her chest when Lena had brought up the subject, but she reminded herself that they often shared hugs and other physical displays of affection. Sharing a bed might be new, but it wouldn't be too big a deal.

Or so she thought.

Lena had insisted that Kara shower and prepare for bed first since it was the blonde’s apartment, plus she had the benefits of superspeed. It was in the middle of her high speed shower that an errant thought came to Kara, and that began her downfall.

Lena was going to shower at Kara’s place, which of course meant that she was going to let down her hair and take off her clothes… and that meant Lena Luthor was going to be _naked_.

The revelation invaded Kara’s mind and once it did, it refused to leave. In fact, it started trespassing into the realm of fantasy as Kara remembered that they were going to share a bed later. The two facts clashed in her head and she nearly broke the bathroom doorknob when she finished brushing her teeth and stepped into the living room.

Lena seemed completely unaware of Kara’s inner turmoil as she walked into the bathroom, thanking the blonde for the sleepwear she provided. Kara had never rushed to her TV so fast when the bathroom door closed and there were the telltale sounds of clothes rustling. She hastily turned to some show about zombies, but that didn’t help when she heard the rush of water flowing. Even the food channel failed her as splashing sounds carried across the apartment.

Kara was screwed.

The superhero groaned loudly, wanting to bash her head on some diamonds or titanium. She turned up the TV’s volume as high as she dared to without disturbing anyone. Singing a random song under her breath, she forced herself to keep her eyes glued to the screen. For a while, she managed to not pay too much attention to the bathroom.

The desire to smash her face on a solid object returned when Kara’s ears picked up the squeak of her shower knob. Her face grew red when both relief and disappointment flooded her.

“Pull yourself together,” Kara hissed to the air. Slapping her face, the reporter began channel surfing rapidly. That distraction seemed to work a bit better, though her remote now had a few extra cracks. 

Kara froze as the sounds of water coming from the sink stopped. She listened to the bathroom door open then close, followed by footsteps into her bedroom. The reporter turned off the TV when the bed creaked, indicating that Lena had just sat down. Knowing she couldn’t stay on the couch forever, Kara stood up and made her way towards her friend.

Kara paused outside of the doorway, still out of view as she inhaled deeply. She let that breath out slowly, steeling herself before stepping into her room.

And then her jaw dropped.

Lena was sitting on the left side of the bed, clad in one of Kara’s T-shirts and shorts as she idly combed through her hair with her hands. Kara had offered the outfit to her friend based on how comfortable they were and not for their aesthetics, so the blonde was totally unprepared for how amazing they looked on Lena. Actually seeing the CEO wear her clothes sent a flip through Kara’s stomach and she swallowed nervously.

“Kara?”

Kara’s eyes snapped up from where they were transfixed on Lena’s exposed legs, the superhero blushing as she realized she was caught staring. Licking her lips, Kara stammered out a shaky “Y– Yeah?”

Lena raised an eyebrow and Kara died a little more inside. “Are you okay?” Lena asked, a hint of humor in her voice.

“Y– Yeah!” Kara quickly answered with a series of rapid nods. “You’re fine– I mean I’m fine! I’m totally great.” She could feel her face heat up when the Luthor laughed.

Kara had no idea how she was supposed to sleep next to Lena without combusting.

Lena didn't give Kara any time to figure that out as the younger woman patted the empty spot next to her. “Come on,” the CEO said with a soft smile. “We need to sleep.”

“Right,” Kara nodded automatically. “Sleep.”

Kara walked rather stiffly to the lights, flicking them off while Lena slipped under the covers. The day’s exhaustion had caught up to the human judging from her minute sigh as she settled into the bed. Despite this, Lena turned to Kara when the reporter slid under the blanket next to her.

Kara willed her body to relax as she looked at Lena in the darkness. Pale light from outside filtered in through the window, striking the Luthor’s pupils at an angle that made them sparkle. Kara found herself captivated by yet another shade of Lena’s eyes as they both observed each other. A familiar peace descended upon them.

“Kara,” Lena suddenly whispered.

“Yeah?”

When her friend didn’t continue, Kara slowly reached out under their shared blanket, searching. A small smile came to her when Lena’s hand met her own and entwined their fingers.

“Thank you,” Lena finally said. “For today and for… everything.”

“Of course,” Kara replied fervently. “Anything for you.”

Lena went silent and if it weren’t for her open eyes, Kara might have thought that the woman was falling asleep. However, her eyes were bright and clear as they watched Kara. Moonlight cascaded down upon Lena and gently highlighted her features, an image Kara wanted to cherish forever.

She was beautiful.

“… Lena, I…”

Kara was the one to falter this time, but Lena gripped her hand tightly to encourage her. The Kryptonian tried again.

“You mean _so_ much to me,” Kara confessed. “I… Will you stay with me?”

Although this wasn’t what Kara wanted to say, she could tell that the meaning behind her question got through when Lena answered with no hesitation, a quiet determination filling her whisper.

“Of course,” Lena said, echoing Kara’s words with equal sincerity. “Anything for you.”

The two gazed at each other, never breaking eye contact even as Lena shifted on the bed. Time seemed to slow down as the brunette moved closer to Kara. Their faces were mere inches apart until Lena finally sealed the distance between them.

Kara melted as the pair of lips she longed to kiss brushed against her forehead.

She didn’t know how she managed to go to sleep after that, but between Lena’s soothing presence and steady heartbeat, Kara felt her consciousness slip away as the two of them fell into a deep slumber. That night, she dreamt of sunlight, flowers, a beloved smile, and hope for the future.


	7. One

Apparently, subtlety wasn’t Kara Danvers’ strong suit. Not when it came to Lena Luthor, at any rate.

“Oh my god, do you see what Miss Danvers is holding?”

“Aww, she’s such a sweet girlfriend.”

“Wait, girlfriend? Aren’t they like… best friends? Gal pals?”

“Hector…”

“Hold up, doesn’t Miss Luthor have something going on with Supergirl?”

“I don’t see Supergirl drinking kombucha for Miss Luthor. Miss Danvers has done that twice now.”

“Twice? Seriously? She must have a stomach of steel.”

“Or she’s just a very dedicated girlfriend.”

“Look, Jess would know if they’re dating or not. Right, Jess?”

“Quiet, you guys! She’s coming this way.”

Kara’s hand twitched as she pushed her glasses up her nose. She kept her head low as she made her way to Lena’s office, doing her best to ignore the excited whispers she heard throughout the floor. A muffled screeching sound almost made the reporter look up in concern, but she ignored it with an inaudible sigh.

Over the last few weeks, Kara had grown used to incidents like this. After all, Lena’s team of assistants weren’t the only ones speculating about her nonexistent romantic relationship with the Luthor. Thanks to her superhearing, Kara was pretty sure there was some sort of betting pool at the DEO courtesy of Maggie and/or Alex. James and Winn had turned into gossiping grandmothers by this point, and J’onn was also a lost cause; the Martian had _that photo_ set as his personal phone’s lock screen.

Catco definitely wasn’t safe, not with all her coworkers eager for a scoop. Even Snapper had dragged Kara aside for a one-sided conversation about her relationship status. The man had launched into a rant about bias, journalistic integrity, and “lezzie mates,” scoffing at Kara’s denials and attempts to clarify things. She had only managed to escape him when he finished his spiel on gossip columns, respecting privacy, and “absolutely no PDA in the middle of Catco.” Kara did not want to revisit that discussion with her boss ever again.

It seemed nearly everyone either believed Kara and Lena were dating, or they wanted them to be. Kara herself fell squarely in the latter category, but it was unclear if Lena did as well or if she was in the “platonic best friends forever” department. That unknown variable had been plaguing Kara as of late, and the ambiguity of the situation felt awfully familiar. She recognized the uncomfortable twist in her gut as well, identifying it as the fear of rejection.

Despite her misgivings, however, Kara knew she had to stamp out that vague uncertainty eventually. Kara the Reporter was not known to be a coward and Supergirl was meant to be a beacon of bravery and valor. Plus, there was the fact that she didn't need a repeat of the last time she had something important to confess to her... friend. Kara had to suppress a scowl when she recalled how she kept putting things off until Cadmus had thrown a giant wrench into her plans with amazing timing. She wasn't going to let that happen again. 

So here Kara was, standing outside Lena's office to prepare herself for whatever was going to happen in a few minutes. There would be no turning back.

Squaring her shoulders, Kara took a deep breath and stepped forward.

“Special delivery!” Kara declared loudly as she entered the room. The sole occupant of the office looked up from her laptop, a smile instantly spreading across the CEO's face.

“Kara!” Lena beamed, making her way around her desk to greet the blonde. Her expression brightened even more when she saw what Kara was holding. “Oh, those roses are _gorgeous_.”

The superhero was proud to see the awe and appreciation in Lena’s eyes. “Only the best for you,” Kara said with a cheesy grin as she handed the bouquet over. Lena’s answering laugh sent a wave of giddiness through the reporter and she ducked her head in embarrassment, still grinning to herself.

“You’re too good to me,” Lena murmured as she gently stroked one of the roses. She looked up before Kara could challenge that statement, smiling softly. “Thank you.”

Kara stared at the brunette’s mouth for a second before remembering to respond. “Wait, I haven’t even told you about our reservations at the Jazz Cat tonight.”

Lena’s lips curled into a smirk. Setting the bouquet of flowers down on her desk, the Luthor narrowed her eyes playfully. “Impromptu roses and dinner at the Jazz Cat? This almost sounds like a rather romantic date, Miss Danvers,” Lena teased, not sounding particularly serious.

Kara drew herself up, meeting Lena’s gaze evenly. “That’s because I’m hoping it is one.”

Surprise flashed across Lena’s face, making it clear that she had been joking with her statement. She was silent for a few seconds before she slowly asked, “Did Winn put you up to this?”

“Winn?” Kara blinked. “What does Winn have to do with anything?”

Lena scrutinized the Kryptonian closely, eying her suspiciously. “You didn’t plan this… date thing with him?”

“No?” Kara’s reply came out more like a question, but she was too busy wondering if she needed to throttle the DEO tech nerd to care. Fortunately, the L-Corp CEO seemed to understand that she was telling the truth.

“I’m sorry,” Lena sighed, shaking her head. She gave a vague wave of the hand as she explained, “He said something about a bet involving the two of us, though I don’t know the details.”

Supergirl mentally switched her target to a pair of useless lesbians, resisting the urge to frown.

“I’m not here for a bet or as a joke or because someone told me to or anything,” Kara stated firmly. “I came here on my own.”

Lena’s lips parted slightly as she processed Kara’s words, her eyebrows quirked in both disbelief and wonder. Kara wasn’t sure what the Luthor was thinking, but she waited patiently for her friend to sort out her thoughts.

“You… actually want to go out on a date with me?” Lena asked carefully. She still sounded confused, but there was something else in her voice that rekindled the determination in her hero.

“Of course I do,” Kara answered easily. “I know we go out for lunch and dinner together a lot but…”

“A _romantic_ date isn’t quite the same,” Lena finished for her.

“Yeah.” Kara nodded, adjusting her glasses as she spoke. Her fingers fiddled with the sides of them as she quickly added, “It doesn’t have to be one if you don’t want it to be though.”

“I do,” Lena said quietly.

With just those two words Kara felt something click into place in her heart. She tried not to let her elation show too much, but when she saw Lena smile shyly, a grin broke out on Kara’s face. Not trusting her ability to speak proper English at the moment, Kara decided to extend a hand. Joy filled her even more when Lena immediately took it, intertwining their fingers.

“You know,” Lena said conversationally. “I’ve spent so long telling myself not to get my hopes up that I’m still having trouble believing this is real.”

“Is it really that hard to imagine me wanting to go on a date with the amazing Lena Luthor?” Kara teased.  

“Well, I am hoping there’s going to be more than just one,” Lena replied with a twinkle in her eyes.

“I hope so too,” Kara agreed. Emboldened by thoughts of the future, she gave a nonchalant shrug. “Personally, I kind of want to skip straight to the girlfriends part, but you know, small steps and all that.”

Lena lifted a brow thoughtfully. “Ah… but what if I want to skip to the girlfriends part too?”

“I think we can handle that,” Kara answered, her grin broadening.  “Besides, some people think we’ve been dating for a while already.”

Lena shook her head before admitting in a dry tone, “Meanwhile, I’ve been thinking of it as me… pining after you for months now.”

It was Kara’s turn to be baffled. “Months? I could have asked you out _months_ ago?”

Lena laughed with a hint of bashfulness. “You could have asked me out almost a year ago and I would probably have said yes."

“I totally should have,” Kara huffed. “Though Alex might not have taken it so well back then.”

“Who would’ve believed it?” Lena asked affectionately. “A Luthor and Super… together.”

“We are a great pair though,” Kara pointed out. She took a step forward as she continued in a softer tone, “I know I can do anything with you next to me.”

“And I will always be here,” Lena promised as she slowly reached towards Kara. Her next words came out as a whisper. “You mean the world to me.”

A hand placed itself on the back of her neck, and Kara felt like soaring when it pulled her nearer. Closing her eyes, Kara leaned forward and felt Lena do the same until, at last, their lips met.

Kissing Lena was simultaneously like a sigh of happiness and a shout of joy. Kara knew that she would be hard-pressed to find anything quite like this new bliss, and the contentment inside her doubled when she felt Lena smile against her mouth. Her own lips curving upwards as well, Kara engraved this moment in her heart.

After a while, they slowly separated, though Kara already missed the soft sensation of the kiss. She settled for resting her forehead against Lena’s, eyes still shut as she listened to her beloved’s heartbeat. Lena’s arms were wrapped around her neck, the CEO’s fingers lightly tracing random shapes onto Kara’s nape.

When Kara felt a distinct S-shaped pattern being drawn, she let out a small laugh. Lena chuckled as well, the sound adding to the warmth Kara felt in her chest. Kara used that feeling as fuel, finally saying the three words she kept to herself for so long.

“I love you.”

There was a split second of silence until Lena suddenly tugged Kara into another kiss. It was no less sweet than their first, and the passion Kara sensed in it served as a clear response to her declaration. Lena’s reply was also evident in her eyes when they separated again, this time pulling back far enough to gaze at each other.

Lena smiled softly.

“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> fromanothersun.tumblr.com


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